Amid mounting concerns and growing dissatisfaction, DTC employees demand long-standing promises and have once again raised their voices against unfulfilled government promises, stagnant reforms, neglected demands, worsening working conditions and what they claim is a slow drift toward privatization.
Core DTC Employees Demands
According to the Delhi Transport Corporation Karamchari Ekta Union, over 30,000 contractual workers continue to operate under uncertain employment terms, many having worked for more than 15 years without confirmation as permanent staff. Despite repeated government commitments, there has been little progress on regularizing these workers or crediting revised pay scales promised in multiple public announcements.
One of the most pressing issues that DTC employees demand is the non-implementation of revised pay scales that were publicly announced but never credited to employees’ accounts. “The promises were made in press conferences, but not in practice,” said Ekta Union President Lalit Chaudhary, questioning whether these announcements were ever meant to be fulfilled.
DTC Moves Towards Privatization
The union alleges that under the guise of modernization, a substantial portion of DTC’s fleet is now privately operated, with staffing and services outsourced. “These buses carry the DTC name, but the drivers and conductors are often on private payrolls.
The union also blamed the transfer of DTC employees into the non-related departments such as the Delhi Jal Board and this is nothing but a wastage of skilled manpower. According to the union, this does not only work against skilled experts in the field of public transport, but to weaken the strength of the DTC.
Finally
As Delhi’s transport lifeline, the future of DTC bus hangs in the balance- not just for its commuters, but for the thousands who keep it running every day. With a new administration in Delhi, employees are hopeful that long-pending issues will finally be addressed, and structural reforms will focus on both public accountability and worker welfare.